Stress, Work Engagement And Psychological Well-Being Of Nurses At State Hospitals In Windhoek, Rehoboth And Okahandja

ABSTRACT

Nursing is considered as being intrinsically stressful because nurses are exposed to dangers such as viruses, bacteria, needle-prick injuries and other hazards on a daily basis. Thus, this study set out to investigate the stress, work engagement, and psychological well-being of nurses working at state hospitals in Windhoek, Rehoboth and Okahandja. The objective of the study was to determine the levels as well as the relationships between stress, work engagement, and psychological well-being of the nurses in the study. The positive psychology paradigm which focuses on initiating a change in psychology from pre-occupation with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life formed the theoretical basis of the study. This study used a quantitative approach which relied on the survey design. The sample consisted of a convenience sample (n=150) of nurses working at the state hospitals. A self-designed demographic questionnaire, the Nursing Stress Inventory (NSI)), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) were utilized to determine the stress, work engagement and the psychological well-being of the nurses.